1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication control device that transmits a job received from a network to an information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a trend toward power saving has come to increased and various types of information processing apparatuses have a power saving mode in which part of functions of the apparatus are stopped in order to reduce an electric power consumption, in addition to a normal mode in which a user can use all the functions of the apparatus without feeling a stress. The information processing apparatus that has the above described power saving mode includes a so-called network controller that controls communication with the other apparatus connected to the network. A power supply to a side of the network controller is always working, whereas a power supply to the other apparatus is controlled so as to be shifted from the normal power mode to the power saving mode.
In the information processing apparatus, in order to shift a state of the apparatus from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the apparatus is controlled so that the mode is shifted from the normal mode to the power saving mode, for example, in a case where the user presses a power saving switch or in a case where the apparatus fails to receive a network packet for a predetermined time period from an external network host.
On the other hand, in returning the apparatus from the power saving mode to the normal mode, the apparatus is controlled so that the apparatus is returned from the power saving mode, for example, in a case where the user clicks the power saving switch or the apparatus receives a WakeUP packet from the external network host.
For example, in a network system discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-165419, in a case where the apparatus receives a packet from an external network device during the power saving mode, a proxy response server transmits a response, i.e., a predetermined type of packet, when the packet received from the external network device matches one of message patterns registered by the proxy response server. In other words, the information processing apparatus can keep the power saving mode during this time.
On the other hand, in a case where the packet received from the external network device does not match any one of the registered message patterns, a main body is activated. However, in a case where the packet received from the external network device matches one of the registered message patterns, a response is made by a Network I/F without activating the main body. Therefore, a power status of the apparatus during the power saving mode is kept.
In the above described information processing apparatus, there are two types of packets which are to be woken up on LAN (i.e., WOL) by the network controller. One of the packets is a packet to be woken up on LAN at the time the packet is received and the other one of the packets is a packet that may be processed when the apparatus is returned according to the other factor without waking up the apparatus on LAN at the time the packet is received.
However, a network device system described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-165419 has such a configuration that a WOL function is always executed regardless of a memory capacity or the like. More specifically, the received packet to which a proxy response is not possible is always notified to the main body.
Accordingly, in the power saving mode, since the information processing apparatus in its entirety is woken up on LAN according to proxy response processing at the side of the network controller, there was a case where a satisfactory power saving effect is not achieved.